Dead in the Water
by RoloPoloColoe
Summary: "It wasn't a conscious decision; it was as if the strings of fate were pulling them together as their eyes slowly closed and their lips slightly parted." Just some good old fashioned Percy and Annabeth oneshots.


Dead in the Water

Annabeth stumbled back into camp, barely conscious. She had blood trailing from her busted lip and clouding her vision as more poured from the gash on her forehead. She gripped her side, hand coming away soaked blood. She groaned as she tripped again, her free hand clinging to the tree next to her to keep her upright, the pain in her side keeping her awake; barely. She had just turned 16 last week, 16 year old girls don't have to fight monsters on border duty and get their sides clawed to shreds and flung into trees. Thank the Gods her siblings had been with her, they had eventually overpowered it and most of them had escaped without a scratch. But not Annabeth; for some unknown reason it targeted her and well... it didn't go so well on her behalf. They insisted on escorting her back to camp but she brushed them off as their cabin leader, she said they couldn't afford to have a small team on border duty, especially at night. She carried on stumbling through the dark as she saw the glow of the torches that lit her way home. A new sense of hope was ignited, only a few hundred more metres and she was at the infirmary; not that anyone would be there, it was 3 in the morning, but she was getting pretty good at stitching herself up. She winced as she leant against a tree to take a breather. She sighed loudly as she tried to get her breath back before hearing a twig snap behind her; she immediately started moving faster, not quite a run, not quite a walk, stumbling over her feet as she looked behind her; her hair whipping her face. She eventually broke through the trees and was in the open when she stopped again, looking behind her to be safe that she was in the clear. She carried on walking, her gaze still behind her as she got closer to the infirmary.

Annabeth slowly inched her way up the steps and pushed open the door, revealing the empty room. The beds were neatly made as Annabeth flipped on the light; she walked past the rows to the wall of medical supplies that sat above the steel table for when things got really bad. She let out a sharp breath as she reached up to grab the stitch kit, the pain made her eyes water and her throat burn as she held back an agonising scream. She blindly felt around for the green box before she managed to get a hold of it and it fell down in front of her causing a loud noise to ricochet of the wooden walls. "Shit." She muttered as she crouched down causing more pain to shoot through her right side. She picked it up shakily and placed it on the metal table. She removed her blood soaked hand and grabbed the sides of her T-shirt pulling it over her head revealing the strappy black crop top she had taken to wear in emergencies like this. She hobbled over to the sink and washed her hands, wincing as she let out strained breaths. She pulled her hair out of her face with a few pieces hanging loose. She then returned to the kit and flipped it open and pulled out the needle and the thread that would dissolve over time. She took a deep breath to calm her shaking hands as she threaded it through the needle, the 16 year old then placed the threaded needle and thread on the table as she picked up an antiseptic wipe to clean the wound. She tried to hold her tears in as the pain increased with each wipe but a few spilled over. She dropped the blood soaked wipe on the table as she picked up the needle, her hands shaking like an autumn leaf in the wind. She closed her eyes, _Focus. _His voice rang out through her head, _You can do this, you've done it to others. Breathe._ It continued. She opened her eyes, the tears stopping as she held the needle out in front of her, hands no longer shaking. She felt a sense of calm and logic wash over her, almost as if she became clinical. She took a deep breath and pinched together the two side of the gash that stretched from the middle of her rib cage across to just below her belly button. It was deep, far too deep for the ambrosia to heal by itself; Annabeth was the smartest person in this camp, she knew how to take care of herself. She pierced her skin with the needle and the pain brought her back to reality. She let out the air from her lungs with a low hiss as the tears came up again. A small sob escaped her as she did another stitch, this continuing for 15 minutes, she still wasn't halfway done. Her throat was raw from the sobs and she felt emotionally and physically done. This was hell, pure unadulterated hell.

"Holy shit." She suddenly heard him say from behind her. She turned around and faced him as he dropped the water he had been holding. His eyes were wide with fear, anger, worry? She couldn't tell.

"Percy," her voice rang out, calm and steady, unlike her nerves, "Don't freak out."

"Don't freak out?!" he said loudly making Annabeth shy away from him, he crossed the room quickly and ran his eyes over her making her feel vulnerable. "Your forehead is cut open, your lip is busted and you're stitching up a freakishly huge cut that looks far too deep to be okay!" He continued, "And you expect me to not freak out?"

"It's nothing." She said through gritted teeth as she pushed the needle through the open wound again making her groan in agony.

"I'm going to go get someone." He said turning away.

"Percy wait!" She called out through gritted teeth making him stop, "Don't, it's not worth it. I just need to finish this then the ambrosia will help the pain."

"Annabeth..." he said again in such a gentle tone it made Annabeth want to run into his arms and let him get her the help she knew she needed deep down.

"Just trust me okay?" She said soothingly as she saw his eyes change from anger to worry, she saw him hesitate and his jaw line grow tight. "Please." She said her voice cracking on the last word, showing him just how much she needed him. Things had been rocky between them this summer, well ever since last summer. Ever since that stupid kiss. They were fine in a group and most occasions it was like nothing had happened; but there were still moments where it was obvious what the other was thinking about, how much they still needed each other. He said nothing making Annabeth believe she had won. She turned away from him and carried on sewing, a small sob escaping that she tried to push down. 10 minutes went by in silence only to be broken by the occasional groan of anguish or sob on Annabeth's part.

"Okay I can't take this anymore." Percy said running his hands through his hair, before resting his hands in fists at his side.

"Percy, I'm nearly done." She said turning around to face him as she put in the final stitch. He was pacing frantically up and down the infirmary, his eyebrows scrunched together like they always did when he was worried. It was cute.

"I don't care." He said frantically stopping in front of her, "You're in pain and there's nothing I can do about it!" He said frustrated as she tied up her stitches, "Okay so you've finished sewing your stomach back together but you still have to do your forehead and your lip and-"

"Percy." She said calmly, putting down the needle and thread, she wiped her bloodied hand on the wipe before walking over to him. "Percy calm down, I can take care of myself."

"But you shouldn't have to." He replied, his voice shaking slightly, "You've just turned 16 and you stitched up your own battle wounds from a monster that was most likely sent here to kill me. I can't be the reason that you get hurt. I need to be able to help you somehow. At least let me help with your head."

She gently placed her hand on his cheek and brushed her thumb over his cheek bone staring him straight in the eyes, "Percy you don't need to take care of me, I'm not your responsibility. You're just a teenage boy yourself." She said calmly looking at him, "Don't worry about me."

"But I do." He said quietly, "Annabeth you're my..." he searched his mind for the right word but couldn't find it. Best Friend? Friend? Family? Girl he was in love with?

"I'm fine is what I am." She said again removing her hand from his cheek. He reached down and gently brushed away her hair to see he gash on her forehead, blood slowly trickling down from it.

"Let me help you." He said quietly, his own voice thick with emotion, "Please."

"Fine, but only because it's you." She said with a sigh. Percy knew how hard it must be for Annabeth, letting someone else take care of her for once. He gently helped her sit up on the table as she moved the free pieces of hair out of her face. He picked up a clean wipe and cleared the blood away from the nasty looking gash. Her tears and stopped long ago but her eyes... they held so much hurt but also so much care for the boy in front of her. His brow was creased in concentration as he picked up several stick on stitches; she winced as he tried to apply them as gently as possible. She bit her lip to ignore the pain and focused on him. She hadn't been this close to him since the kiss last summer and it was making her heart beat faster. His lips no longer shaking but set in a hard line as his jaw tightened.

He applied the last strip but his hands lingered as he studied her face, they hadn't been this close in a year. The freckles on her nose were more prominent, the tan bringing out her eyes. Her lips were no longer shaking but turned upwards slightly as she examined the curve of his jaw and the slope of his lips. His fingers that lingered on her forehead slowly brushed down giving her goose bumps before pushing backwards behind her head, getting tangled in her hair. It wasn't a conscious decision; it was as if the strings of fate were pulling them together as their eyes slowly closed and their lips slightly parted. She leant forward and rested her hand on the side of his neck where she could feel his pulse beating erratically. They were at the point of no return. His lips slowly met hers; it was a short, chaste kiss that left them feeling breathless. They pulled away slightly, noses and foreheads still touching, needing to be close together.

"You're lip..." Percy said in a breathless manner, eyes still closed.

"It doesn't matter." Annabeth whispered with a small smile, not wanting to ruin this, "It doesn't matter at all." She finished as he kissed her again, this time harder and more openly. It was her first real kiss and it was making her body feel alive. He pulled her closer as she ran her hand through his hair, his other hand moving to the small of her back. She eventually pulled away and let out a small, breathy laugh that he copied.

"Well that's new." He said joking as they both finally opened their eyes, foreheads still together.

"That..." Annabeth started but didn't know how to finish, didn't know how to tell him what he made her feel, didn't know how to tell him everything that she wanted.

"I know." He said finally pulling apart from her, making her feel like she had suddenly lost a part of her. His hand was suddenly on top of hers, fingers running over each other as another silence settled over them. All of Annabeth's pain momentarily forgotten. "Why do we keep doing this?" he asked quietly, looking down at her, "We keep..."

"Kissing?" She said with a bitter laugh as their fingers danced over each other.

"Yeah." He replied with a small laugh, "It's not like... I mean... In a month I might not even-"

"Shut up." Annabeth said quickly making him raise his eyebrows at her, "Just shut up okay? Let's just imagine for once that we're normal teenagers who kissed and tomorrow we're not going to mention it okay? Because we're best friends and we need to get through this."

"Okay." He said quietly, looking at the determination in her eyes.

"You're not dying on me Seaweed Brain. Us against the world remember?" She said referring to the Conversation they had had at Christmas.

"How could I forget?" he said quietly as he rested his forehead against hers.

"You're not getting away from me Percy Jackson." She said firmly, closing her eyes, "That's never going to happen."

**Okay I hope you liked that! I might make this into a series of oneshots, I'm not sure yet. I originally did some PJ oneshots a few years back and I deleted them recently so I hope this/these will be better! Reviews and favourites are always appreciated. **


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